Saturday's event raised nearly $50,000 which goes to fund tuition costs to Elks Camp Moore for special needs children, donations to local schools, Christmas and Easter parties, bus trips and a prom.

For those who really wanted to take the dive – or had a lame excuse – and missed Saturday's opportunity, don't despair, the Sparta Elks Lodge No. 2356 annual "Chillin' for the Children" polar plunge into Lake Mohawk is coming up on March 11.

Jeers ...

To those responsible for a fuel spill that found its way into Lake Hopatcong.

As warm-hearted individuals were voluntarily jumping into the southern end of the lake over the weekend to raise funds for special needs children, hazmat workers were continuing their efforts at the north end to contain and clean-up a fuel spill.

The clean-up, which began a week ago Sunday, was expected to stretch into this week. The source of the spill has been tracked to a local trucking company which will be responsible for the cleanup costs, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

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To Hopatcong officials who allowed conditions of the borough's municipal pound to deteriorate to the point that it was closed last week after numerous violations were cited by the Sussex County Department of Health and Human Services, including improper waste disposal, inadequate animal enclosure size, sanitation issues and an inability to quarantine sick or injured animals.

After a thorough inspection of the facility, the borough will decide to either fix the problems and reopen the pound, knock it down and build a new facility or enter into a shared services agreement with a neighboring facility, according to borough Business Administrator Ron Tappan.

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To stupid criminals who, in their aim to collect debts or get even with other criminals or those who somehow get mixed up with criminals, end up attacking totally innocent victims.

Not that it's OK to violently go after anyone (nor would we cheer smart criminals), but it was disclosed last week that the three assailants of a Hopatcong man, supposedly intending to collect money owed to another party, busted into the apartment of a man living next door to their intended target.

Despite having identification and informing them they had the wrong guy, the man, who was not involved in the matter in any way, was beaten and stabbed by the trio of invaders.

In 2010, another trio of inept, address-challenged bushwhackers kidnapped a Newton pet supply owner, pistol-whipped him and hauled him halfway across the country before he was able to escape when their car broke down.

In that instance, it was reported that the intended target actually lived in Mahwah.

It's wrong to commit a crime, but to attack an innocent person because of a mistaken identity is a stupid crime.